All in all, we're not overly surprised by the GUI. It's using the fragments that make up a big part of the Honeycomb experience -- basically the ability to bring more information to a larger screen. In the example above, Seemic founder and CEO Loic Le Meur tweeted about the Air France Flight 447 crash. The tweet included a link via ping.fm (which Seesmic bought last year) to the boingboing article, and we see the page loaded in a fragment on the right. And presumably other content will at least be previewed that way, too.

We're not going to read too much more into these screen shots (there's one more after the break) just yet, except to say that this is just the beginning of the Honeycomb Twitter apps, folks, and Seesmic has previously said publicly that we'll get a look at its app next week at Google IO.

T-Mobile is continuing its push of 4G Android phones, and the latest looks to be the Samsung Exhibit 4G. The specs we're sure of, thanks to a tipster who sent a handful of pictures to T-MoNews, are TouchWiz, a front facing camera, Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread), and a model number of SGH-T759. Additional rumored specs include a 1.4 GHz ARM11 processor, a 5 MP shooter that does 720p recording, and a 3.7-inch AMOLED display.

HTC EVO 3D shows up in ESPN The Magazine (Update: And in EW!)

We know the HTC EVO 3D is coming soon to Sprint. We know it's coming this summer. We just don't know exactly when. And this little advertisement in ESPN The Magazine is doing its best to taunt us, and we're not happy about it one bit. Zoom in all you want, we sure don't see any clues as to when it'll be released. But don't forget that you can preorder one now at Best Buy, if you've really got an itch.

Update: And I just found one in this week's EW magazine. Pic's above. For those asking, the date you see on there is definitely 3/24.

HTC ThunderBolt Review

A familiar phone gets faster, thanks to Verizon's LTE network

It isn't very often that a smartphone has the the staying power to remain a best-seller for an entire year, and it's even more rare to see that smartphone still have a major buzz factor when it hits another carrier some 12 months after it was initially announced. That phone, of course, is the HTC EVO 4G on Sprint. And it's been revamped and revitalized as the HTC ThunderBolt -- the first 4G LTE smartphone on Verizon.

Let's just get this out of the way -- yes, the ThunderBolt is nearly a dead ringer for the Sprint EVO 4G, another HTC device. And that's a good thing. The EVO 4G was the first Wimax device, and the first Android smartphone with a 4.3-inch touchscreen, and we'd still have little problem recommending it to someone today. So it was of little surprise that the ThunderBolt caused such a commotion leading up to its announcement at CES in January 2011, and that frustration over the nearly three months it took until release crescendoed to a level never before seen.

But, indeed, the ThunderBolt ushers in a new era -- the LTE era -- and that means a whole new experience. So join us after the break as we break down the ThunderBolt and its place atop of the smartphone mountain.

HTC Sensation hits the FCC again, for real this time

To add to the confusion, the HTC Sensation has cleared the FCC, and this time it has a name. A few days back a phone with no name, identified only by a model number cleared the FCC, and we all thought that was the Sensation. Today we see a different phone, with a different model number, but the name HTC Sensation clearly identified, making it's way through the FCC verification process. Odds are that this time it really is the HTC Sensation. The phone has T-Mobile "4G" radios and everything else is still marked confidential. But it does say HTC Sensation, so it has to be it. Right? Right?

So to recap:

The PG58130 is the HTC Sensation according to the FCC label.

The PG59100 is the HTC Doubleshot according to information from the system dump.

The PG58100 is something with T-Mobile radios and FCC approval. Now to find out what.

ColorSnap makes painting your house a whole lot simpler

Sherwin-Williams has released its ColorSnap app for Android, and suddenly I can’t remember how I lived life without it. For someone who’s colorblind like me, the app is a downright miracle and for normal sighted folk, it’s still pretty darn useful. The concept is simple and works like a charm: snap a picture of just about anything, or use photos already in your gallery, and ColorSnap will analyze the selected portion of the pic and match it to one of their millions of paint colors. Have a portrait you want to match your walls to? Snap it and the app will get you to Sherwin-Williams’ closest matching color. Admitted, I’ll never know exactly what the heck “Quixotic Plum” is, but at least now I know it’s what I used in my 2nd grade art project. Now if only I had ColorSnap that time I accidentally painted my walls "Barney purple"… Hit the break to grab Colorsnap for free from the Android Market.

US Cellular to provide 4G LTE service to 25% of customers by the holiday season

US Cellular announced today that it will begin its LTE rollout and will be able to provide the 4G service to 25 percent of its customers by the holiday season. The initial coverage areas will include parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, Maine, North Carolina, Texas and Oklahoma. Some of the cities that will seeing the faster speeds first include Milwaukee, Madison, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Greenville, NC and Portland, Maine.

To compliment the new LTE service, US Cellular will also introduce a range of 4G enabled devices, which will continue to be released alongside deployment throughout 2012. More 4G LTE is a good thing and it looks like US Cellular customers will not have to wait long. Full press release after the break.

What you've got is a simple but durable skin that wraps around your phone. Or you slide the phone inside it. Your call. Regardless of how you get it in there, the case protects the shell of your phone from scratches or dings and helps improve your grip, which is good, seeing how the Droid Charge is a large device. It slips on and off fairly easily, but not so easy that it should come off without warning.

The skin case also sports an anti-dust coating, which is good for these rubberized types of skins. It has cutouts for the camera, microUSB port, lanyard holder, microphone and HDMI port. The volume rocker and power button are covered, but you can use them easily through the case.

How to remove the Infuse 4G microSD card

(Yes, you'll need instructions)

You really shouldn't need an instruction manual to remove the microSD card from a phone. But things get a little tricky with the Samsung Infuse 4G.

Open up the battery cover and there's no card to be found. OK, there's a picture of one on the FCC label, but where the heck is the card? Samsung tucked it up under the SIM card. It's spring-loaded and pops out straight down toward the bottom of the phone.

But that's not the only trick -- it's mounted face down. You'll need to make sure the printed side is down, and the gold contacts are facing up.

As for actually getting your fat fingers around and under the card to remove it? You're on your own. Check out our trials and tribulations after the break.

Sony Ericsson officially reveals Xperia Acro

Apparently Cinco de Mayo isn't just a day for celebration and drinking, phone manufacturers like to join in on the fun, too. Sony Ericsson announced a new addition to its Xperia line of phones, the Xperia Acro, the Japanese cousin to the SE Xperia Arc.

In a press release, Sony Ericsson told us its new phone would have Android 2.3 on board, huzzah! It's always a good sign to see manufacturers preloading Gingerbread on their new phones. It'll handle the processing with the help of a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU and Adreno 205 GPU. The camera will snap photos at 8.1MP and record video at 720p. With the included Exmor R for mobile technology, low light stills and videos will turn out surprisingly well, often negating the use for the camera flash. SE brags the Acro has "best-in-class imaging and display technology features," something we can certainly attest to given the excellence of the Xperia Arc's camera. This allows it to take full advantage of the mobile TV functionality it's capable of. All this goodness will be displayed on a 4.2-inch extra-wide screen powered by the Reality Display with Mobile Bravia Engine. You'll be able to pick up an Acro this summer in black or white.

A lucky few buying the Nexus S 4G two days early

Looks like some Sprint stores are unleashing the Nexus S 4G a few days early, according to some excited chatter in the forums. Despite the May 8 release date (that's this Sunday), some folks are saying they’ve managed to purchase their shiny new Google phone today. We’re pretty sure these are isolated cases but if you're itching too hard to wait ‘til Sunday, it couldn’t hurt to drop by your local Sprint store to see how far some sweet talking will get you.

Welcome to the newly redesigned Android Central!

What's all this, then?

Oh, hello Android lover - welcome to the all-new Android Central! We've been spending the past few months giving your favorite site for Android forums, reviews, news, and information a whole new look and bringing new functionality to every page you visit.

Of course, any big redesign can bring bugs, so please go on and tell us both the good and the bad in this forum thread (and, yeah, please clear your browser cache if things look really bad). We'd love to take you on a quick tour, so join us, won't you?

Android app captures hit-and-run on camera

We have seen Android devices save people's lives. Now it's catching crooks. Imagine just driving down the road minding your business, and someone miscalculates their lane change, and next thing you know they hit you and then speed off. Well just that happened to a driver in Knoxville, Tenn., but lucky for him he was using the Android application DailyRoads Voyager, which happens to capture video of the whole drive after the application is launched. While this doesn't change the fact that he got hit, it sure helps to identify exactly what happened, and in some cases could provide crucial evidence.

If you haven't already installed this application on your device, be sure to head to the market and download your copy today. Video of the hit-and-run and and download links for the app are after the break.

LG Optimus Black unbooking (unboxing)

Ah, the unboxing. All that pomp and circumstance to tell you that inside most smartphone boxes you'll find a charger, USB cable, manual, some leagalese, maybe a SD card adapter, some earbuds if you're really lucky -- standard fare. Yawn.

LG's included all that in the Optimus Black package it sent us. We've got a charger. We've got a manual. We've got a microSD card adapter. We've even got earbuds. But, darn it, LG did it with style, including a beautifully drawn book with several dozen pages detailing some of the finer points of the Black (as we're going to call it).

It's an unboxing (or is it unbooking?) to behold. Check it all out in still life -- like, 50-something pictures -- after the break.